Thursday, July 07, 2005

Miller Sticks To Guns, Jailed For Not Naming Source"His Way" Hogan Places Writer With Other Special Cases He's Sentenced

Judith Miller, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, was jailed yesterday for not giving up her confidential sources, for an article she didn't write. The other reporter involved in the case, Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine, received a last minute approval from his source that allowed Cooper to testify before the grand jury and have the civil contempt charges dropped.

Federal Judge Thomas F.Hogan told Miller that she was "defying the law" and ordered Miller to "a suitable jail within the metropolitan area of the District of Columbia". Miller will remain in jail until such time that she decides to talk or until the term of the grand jury expired in October.

Judge Hogan is presiding over a case, by Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald before a grand jury, of the disclosure of the identity of a covert operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. The investigation is based on a 1982 law that made it a crime to disclose the identity of covert agents in some circumstances (See The Garlic -" Rove Said To Be "Under Pressure Over Leak Accusation )

Hogan, known derisively among court personnel and lawyers who practice in his court, as "His Way Hogan", sentenced Miller to serve her time at the Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia.

Alexandria Detention Center is a favorite of Hogan, as at least 25 other persons have been sentenced there in the past three-years.

Among the convicted that Hogan has placed in the ADC is a check forger who never passed a bad check, a shoplifter who has never stepped foot in a retail store and three persons for speeding, despite that they don't own or drive automobiles.

In Miller's case, Hogan has jailed the reporter for a story that was never published.

"I don't know how he does it", stated one local prosecutor who didn't want his name used, for fear of retribution by the Judge. "They talk about judges that create legislation from the bench … Hogan … He sees crimes that no else does"

Miller, though shaken by the experience of being incarcerated, told Judge Hogan before being taken from the court that "If journalists cannot be trusted to guarantee confidentiality, then journalists cannot function and there cannot be a free press."

In anticipation of protests outside the detention center where Miller is being held, Hogan has already convicted four activists, and six protesters, who have not yet demonstrated against the verdict, to thirty-days in jail for unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace.

London Wins Olympic Bid, But With A Catch

IOC Names Switzerland As Games Official Food Host

In a highly contested run, and ending with a close vote, the International Olympic Committee named London as the host of the 2012 Olympic Games. London won by a 54-50 vote over neighbor, and often rival, France.

The committee also, however, took the unusual step of adding Switzerland to the hosting duties, naming them as the "Official Food Host" of the 2012.

This follows the harsh words from French President Jacques Chirac , who was caught on tape complaining about British cuisine.

``We can't trust people who have such bad food,'' Chirac was quoted as saying.

Chirac went on to say that the English's food was the worst, next to Finland and that the only thing the British offered to agriculture was "mad cow disease".

British Prime Minister Tony Blair , who was elated that London won the bid, refused to comment on Chirac, before flying off to host the G8 Summit in Scotland. This will be the first time Britain has hosted the Olympic Games since 1948.

The competition to host the Games was fierce, with New York and France spending a nearly $70 million combined in their efforts to promote their cities as hosts.

Sources have told The Garlic, that behind closed doors, a majority of IOC committee members shared Chirac's assessment of British cuisine.

"Let's face it" said one member, "it's just God-awful. We had a great deal of discussion about it. If cuisine wasn't an issue, London would have won anyway, but by a considerable higher margin. Perhaps another 20-30 votes".

The delegation from Switzerland appeared to be caught off-guard by the announcement and refused comment beyond stating that they were "most happy" to be part of the 2012 Games.

One on-looker to the voting and the high-spending campaigns for the Games and put it in perspective.

"When you look at the agenda this week for the G8 Summit , I think there's a lot of countries that would welcome a cuisine like the British have".

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

VP On Vetting Panel; Nearly Same Situation But Now Has Residency Established

Many Washington insiders are both fearing, and betting, that history will repeat itself, when, in a few days, or weeks, President Bush announces Vice President Dick Cheney as his choice to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

In 2000, when still the CEO of Halliburton, the largest private vendor operating in Iraq, then Presidential candidate George Bush, asked Cheney to head the search committee for a vice president to run with Bush. Bush, shortly after, dropped the bombshell by choosing Cheney as his running mate on the Republican ticket.

Pundits scoffed at the choice, deriding it as "hiring his father's gang" but the younger Bush stuck by Cheney as the best possible candidate. The pair faced a lawsuit, as Cheney's residence - Texas - was challenged and the suit, eventually denied, sought to invalidate the electoral votes from Texas in the 2000 Presidential election.

As to be elevated to the Supreme Court, Cheney, sources say, is openly lobbying for the position.

Recently, he's sat in staff and briefly meetings wearing a judges robe, and carrying a gavel.

Cheney's been showering the President with DVD's of movies - 'The Paper Chase', 'The Pelican Brief', 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean', 'Twelve Angry Men' - and other court-based feature films.

"The President was setting his post-Summer schedule" offered one White House aide, "and the Vice President interrupted him to advise that he should be 'unavailable' the first Monday in October".

Senator Joe Biden, on hearing the speculation that the choice will be Cheney, promised a vigorous fight, including a filibuster.

"C'mon, that just wouldn't be the best or appropriate choice", lamented Biden. "Heck, that would be a terrible choice … A really, really terrible choice".

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy harshly criticized Cheney, if he ends up being the candidate.

"He's already handed over the military to Halliburton, I suspect he'll give them the judiciary too".

While the President is reviewing a number of candidate, the Conservative Right is already rattling their sabers over the expectation that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be the candidate the President chooses.

"I think", offered the White House aide, "that the Attorney General sent over only one DVD. It was 'The Wild Bunch''. The President likes a good western."

With today being the day that Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times may be sent to jail, for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of covert C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame, numerous sources are reporting that White House Strategist Karl Rove is the official who leaked the information.

On Friday, Political pundit Lawrence O'Donnell declared that Rove would be exposed as the leaker, based on the documents Time Magazine turned over to Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald and the grand jury.

On Saturday, Newsweek, posting a story on its' website, report that emails show that Rove was one of Cooper's sources on the Plame story, Cooper wrote his story after Columnist Robert Novak had already outted the covert Plame in his column over a week earlier.

Robert Luskin, Rove's lawyer, admits that Rove was interviewed by Cooper and "may have unknowingly mentioned Plame's name".

Source close to the White House say that Rove is showing increasing, and escalating signs of the stress at, potentially, being indicted.

He is said to be unfocused, walking the halls of the West Wing, mumbling unintelligibly.

An unconfirmed report says, during a meeting with administration lawyers, Rove "ran around the room, hands covering his ears, shouting 'Liars, Liars' and had to be physically restrained"

Novak refused comment, and would not confirm or deny if Rove was his source.

Watchers of the case feel there could be multiple sources.

"If Rove has his fingerprints on this" offered one source, "you can bet they had a 'smear team' working on Plame"

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Fearing that President Bush will turn his back on them, high-powered conservatives groups announced yesterday that should the President nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the Supreme Court, they will immediately call for a boycott on Taco Bell, as a means to, economically, punish the President.

"We want the President to send up to the Court, the man with an axe that he will take to Roe v. Wade" declared Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council. 'We expect nothing less".

Late last week, The New York Times reported, a delegation of conservative lawyers led by C. Boyden Gray and former Attorney General Edwin Meese III met with the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., to warn that appointing Mr. Gonzales would splinter conservative support.

"Splintered?", scoffed the Dr. James Dobson, leader of Focus On Family. "We've never been closer … We're all peas-in-a-pod on this issue".

Perkins, Dobson and the Southern Baptist Convention's Chairman Rob Zin, in a joint statement, declared they are ready to call on their followers a boycott of Taco Bell, should the President send Gonzales to Congress for the Supreme Court opening, created by the retirement last week of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Taco Bell Corp, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc, is the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain, with over 6,500 restaurants in the U.S., and another nearly 300 operating in Asia, Europe, Canada, and Central and South America.In 2003, Taco Bell generated sales of $1.6 billion in company restaurants and $3.8 billion in franchise restaurants

Zin and his Southern Baptist's just called off a eight-year boycott of Walt Disney (See 23 June The_Garlic)

A spokesperson for Yumi Brands, looking to ward off any boycott of it's Taco Bell chain, appealed for calm, non-partisan debate in Congress and stated that they "trust the President will make the proper choice".

Taco Bell also announced a new special promotion - The Supreme Taco - and indicated that they will donate a certain percentage of the proceeds to the three conservative groups.

Alberto R. Gonzales, who was sworn in as the nation's 80th Attorney General back on February 3, 2005, was raised in Houston, the second of eight children born to Pablo and Maria Gonzales. His father, who died in 1982, was a construction worker, and both his parents were children of immigrants from Mexico with less than a high-school education themselves.

Gonzales ''is a terrific human being, a good lawyer . . . a person who can handle the job. If the president chooses Alberto Gonzales . . . I think we would all feel pretty good about it," Hatch said on CBS's ''Face the Nation." ''If he gets picked, I'm certainly going to support" him, Hatch said.

Both Republican and Democrats said they were prepared for a fight, with Republicans demanding an up-or-down vote on Bush's eventual nominee and Democrats holding out the possibility they may mount a filibuster if they can't accept the president's selection.

''It's really up to the president, whether we're going to have someone that is a consensus candidate, someone that can bring the country together, someone that can rally the Republicans and Democrats," Senator Edward M. Kennedy said Sunday on ABC's ''This Week."

Two other Democratic senators, Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said yesterday that they hoped a filibuster could be avoided, but would not rule out the option.

Senate Leader Bill Frist was unavailable for comment. Aides indicated he was reviewing videotape of potential nominees. House Leader Tom DeLay issued a brief statement, indicating his lobbyists haven't given him his position on the issue yet.

Dobson and Perkins, who organized this past Spring's 'Justice Sunday's' indicated they may extend and expand the program.

'We'll march across this country with Justice Monday's, Tuesday's, Wednesday - the whole darn week - if we have to" declared Dobson. "We'll hold'em right out on Pennsylvania Avenue so the President can't say he didn't hear us".

The President, who will be at the G8 Conference this week in Scotland, indicated before the July 4th holiday break that he will not announce his decision before July 8th, after he returns from the G8.

Scott McClellan, White House Spokesperson, stated that 'The President just hopes everyone will hold their water".

McClellan added that the President also hopes that the Taco Bell boycott will be called off "immediately"

"The President is rather fond of those Double-Decker Taco things. He'll have two, or three of them when he's down in Crawford".

Founder of Earth Day, Gaylord A. Nelson, Dead at 89Mother Earth To Offer "Volcanic Salute To A Great Friend"

Gaylord A. Nelson , a former senator from Wisconsin, a staunch supporter of the environmental movement in America and the founder of Earth Day, died on Sunday at the age of 89.

Mr. Nelson was known for his candor and independence. He was one of only three senators who voted against the $700 million appropriation that began the nation's expanded involvement in the Vietnam War.

But Mr. Nelson was most distinguished on Capitol Hill as an early and ardent environmental leader. In his first Senate speech, in 1963, he framed the declining condition of the nation's air and water as a national issue. The speech coincided with Mr. Nelson's successful private effort to lobby President John F. Kennedy to embrace environmental protection as a priority. In September 1963, President Kennedy embarked on a five-day, 11-state tour to talk about conservation.

In a statement released to the media, Mother Earth stated, "with great sadness, losing such a good friend".

As a tribute to Nelson, Mother Earth will plan a "volcanic salute" to Nelson at a date to-be-determined

Live 8 Concerts Generate Over 26 Million Text Messages

Over 24-Million Exchanged About "The Blond In Front of The London Stage"

There were a lot of sore fingers and thumbs this weekend, as over 26-Million people sent text messages during the 10-Country Live 8 Concert that took place on Saturday.

Organizers said that it was a single-day record, breaking the 5.9-million sent during an episode of "American Idol"

AOL, which streamed the video of the concerts, also claimed a world record, stating that over 5-million logged on to AOL for the broadcast globally, making it the biggest streamed event ever.

As to the text messages, over 24-Million of the messages were sent, with the subject being a busty blond young woman, who danced wildly in front of the stage in London.

Messages ranged from "Holy Cow", to "Check out the London Chick", to very sexually graphic messages.

For a brief period, perhaps approximately five-minutes, a hacker broke into the London concert video system to offer a proposal of marriage to the blond woman, transmitting his appeal from his video-phone.

Irish rocker Bob Geldof and Bono of U2 arranged the concerts to push the Group of Eight leaders of the world's richest nations who meet in Gleneagles, Scotland, this week to take action to eliminate poverty

Fix Iraq

About Me

J. Thomas Duffy created and lauched 'The Garlic in 2005.
Mr. Duffy is an accomplished writer, with experience as a newspaper reporter, radio writer, comedy and stand-up writer, the author of three children's books (unpublished, so far) and, and, through a good number of his writing experience, actually received payment for it.
Mr. Duffy is also a Contributing Editor on the blog, 'The Reaction' and a Contributing Writer to the blog 'The Moderate Voice.
In his spare time, Mr. Duffy likes to promulgate that is actually the dog salivating that caused Pavlov to ring the bell.